The Harmony in Opposites
by bandkid4life
Summary: Lai and Lee never thought the past would catch up with them. It was simple. Hide in the Northern Water Tribe until the war eventually passes, start a new life, and live like they obviously belong. But when Lee begins to have visions and the Avatar shows up on their doorstep, the twins find themselves catapulted into a war that they tried so hard to escape. Eventual Zuko/OC.
1. Prologue

**Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Each element is separate, having its own specialty and purpose.**

 **Water is the element of change.**

 **Earth is the element of substance.**

 **Fire is the element of power.**

 **Air is the element of freedom.**

 **When these four elements work together, they create harmony and peace. If one of these elements tries to overtake the other, there would be chaos.**

 **My mother once told me of a time when the world wasn't at war, when everyone seemed to get along. Dragons were seen flying in the skies, creating beautiful works of art by their twisting and turning, the Air Nomads were readily awaiting the new Avatar in their temples, and citizens communed under the shared peace between nations. This peace was strengthened under the watchful gaze of Avatar Roku, but when he passed...things seemed to go out of control.**

 **The Fire Nation attacked the Air Nomads twelve years after the death of Avatar Roku to ensure the new Avatar, an unnamed child, was slaughtered with the rest of his people. However, the Avatar evaded death and somehow hid for the past one hundred years. War raged on, calling on great warriors and benders from every side to arms against their foes. The Fire Nation reigned victorious in almost every battle, and fire began to spread in places where it had never been leaving scorch marks as scars in their path.**

 **Eighty-Two years into the war is when my mother said she went to the Fire Nation.**

 **One thing about water benders, if you didn't know, is that they can heal people's injuries exceptionally well if properly trained. My mother was sent to the Northern Water Tribe at a very young age to learn these techniques, though she never learned combative water bending due to the cultural restraints of the Northern Tribe. Being one of the only water benders in the Southern Water Tribe, my mother was sent to the front lines of the Earth Kingdom to heal soldiers and civilians who were injured during battle.**

 **It was here that she was captured by a Captain Zhao. Zhao was young...for a captain, handsome (apparently), and newly widowed with an infant son. He gave her a choice: stay locked up forever or marry him and be free.**

 **She realized after two years of marriage that prison would've been the better choice, until my brother and I were born. Having us, she would always say, made her life seem like it had purpose.**

 **A year later, Fire Lady Ursa birthed a son, and two years after that we were living in the palace. My brother and I served as friends for little Zuko, while my mother served as a handmaiden to the Fire Lady. I discovered I could bend at the age of six, and my mother was surprised when it was fire. I was to remain untrained by order of my mother, to keep the news from spreading to my father, but I secretly went to training sessions with General Iroh whenever he was at the palace. I became proficient enough, learning all of the basics through his teachings and scrolls that he would leave behind for me.**

 **Things seemed to be going well until my brother discovered his bending when we turned twelve.**

 **Water Bending. He was a water bender.**

 **We left the palace a couple of nights later with Fire Lady Ursa, partially out of fear and partially because my brother needed a teacher. She took us to the North Pole, dropping us off under the care of Master Waterbender Pakku. It was here where my brother learned to strength his bending, and I learned how to use my opposite to strengthen my own. The war didn't touch the Northern Water tribe while we were there, and my brother was able to flourish where his element was his strongest.**

 **Everything changed when the Spirit Oasis began to glow after one hundred years and the Avatar came to our doorstep.**


	2. Chapter One

**Book One: Water 水善**

* * *

 **Chapter One**

* * *

 **My mother always said water was the element of change.**

 **She learned from an old, wise man that, like the element they could bend, the people of both water tribes could easily change. She also told us of their close sense of community. Everyone was like family as long as you were open to working with them and could prove yourself to be one of them.**

 **Like the element, waterbenders could heal and purify. The element seems gentle enough, but even the stupidest of firebenders know not to mess with a waterbender, especially during a full moon. Waterbenders could use water in the simplest of tasks like stirring a stew or the most meticulous tasks like creating a jail with shards of ice. Either way, these benders are not a force to be reckoned with.**

 **It would be fate that my brother is one of them.**

 **I remember the first time he bent water. We were around eleven and we were fighting. About the prince.**

 **The arguing got to the point where I ran away, angry because my brother wanted to control my life. We yelled, hit, and tackled, but it wasn't until a large wave of water collected behind my brother that I shut up and listened. He was surprised at my willingness to listen but then noticed the large, water wall right behind him. He freaked out, soaked us, and ended up getting us kicked out of the palace.**

 **Kidding...we weren't kicked out...just smuggled out before we could get kicked out. Ozai already hated us for being close to his son. Add a waterbending friend of his son and that just equals a whole mess.**

 **We ended up escaping with Fire Lady Ursa a couple of days after the incident. She cast us on a small boat with only a letter, some heavy clothes, and food to last us about a month. It was really just crossing open water so she set us in one direction and hoped for the best. We were lucky enough to be found days before we died of starvation by Master Pakku and some of his waterbenders.**

 **It's been pretty smooth sailing after that.**

* * *

"Come on, Lai! Bring him down!"

"She can barely lift a box full of tiger seal blubber! What makes you think she can take her water bending brother down?"

"She's a bender too, don't forget that!"

"Fifty gold pieces on Lee!"

"Twenty on Lai!"

Lai, standing off to the side near a clear sheet of ice, looked down to her reflection to check her hair. The light brown locks that she tied into braids earlier that morning were beginning to puff out from all of her movement. She huffed, smoothing her hands over her braids, before turning to face her brother, who was smirking at her. The signature smirk gave nothing away to the growing crowd surrounding them, but his golden eyes told a different story when they met her blue.

A young teenager stepped forwards, his mitten-clad hands holding a long sword up in the air. The crowd silenced, not even a low murmur was heard in the crowd.

"You both know the rules," Hahn stated, "no bending until give permission."

The two nodded from across the frozen field and got into their fighting stances. Lai put her hands up, beckoning her brother to attack her.

"Then let the match begin."

Lee smiled, almost devilishly, as he ran towards his sister, extending his left hand out to strike. She ducked, launching her leg out to trip him, which he easily avoided. He kicked, she countered. She punched, he blocked. As they fought, the crowd "oh'd" and "ahh'd" as the pair skirted around each other.

This went on for a couple of minutes. When Lai would strike, Lee would avoid, and vice versa.

Lai eventually got a jab in when she leaped over Lee, and struck the middle of his back. He stumbled forward and fell to the ground, grabbing his back in pain once he landed. Lee growled and got to his feet quickly before running towards Lai as fast as he could. He threw a punch that Lai barely missed before setting the familiar rhythm they had before.

"Oh just bend already!"

The two stopped mid-dance, glancing at each other, before trying to throw one more punch. Lai flipped away from her brother, removing her gloves and tossing them on the ground. Lee smile seemed to grow as a long stream of water came flowing to his fingers.

"What's wrong, sis, a little cold?"

"Yeah, it is cold. Maybe I'll warm it up."

He tightened the water into a whip. "You can try."

With a flick of a wrist, the water began to move quickly towards Lai. It turned into ice right before it hit her.

"Lee!"

The waterbender flashed a bright smile to the crowd, letting his hands guide the icy blade. Gasps erupted from the crowd as the shard hurdled towards Lai, only to evaporate with a puff of steam right before it hit her.

"I see you're plenty warm today."

"I ran some errands for Yue before I came, so you could say I'm _plenty warm_ , brother." Lai replied before throwing a fireball her brother's way.

A stream of water met the fireball halfway, disintegrating it into steam. They threw their elements back and forth, water meeting fire in a cloud of steam. As they battled, they grew closer together, which made the steam grow more in the air as their attacks were less spread apart. The taste of victory was inches away as Lai noticed her brother's closing proximity to her. She smirked, gathering all of her energy into the palm of her hands before thrusting it towards his throat. A large ball of flames flickered in front of the water benders throat.

"I win." She announced.

Lee smiled at her, flicking his eyes to her throat before moving them back up to her unwavering gaze. Following her brother's eyes, Lai glanced down at her throat, only to find a long, jagged piece of ice nearly inches from killing her.

"A draw!" Hahn shouted, causing much of the crowd to groan. The sound of coins mingled among the crowd as it began to thin, leaving only Hahn and the two fighters after a couple of minutes. Lai took her fire away first, noticing the red mark beginning to form on her brother's neck, Lee taking his ice shard away right after.

"Good fight, you two. Winnings well earned."

Lai smirked at Hahn, outstretching her palm out to the young solider. He smirked back, slapping the money into her hand before doing the same to her brother. The twins shared a look before Lai handed her money over to her brother to protect.

"Thanks for the good fight, sis. I'll see you tonight? Pakku said he had some new moves to show you."

"Of course. I'll be there after I make sure Yue has gone to dinner safely."

Lee nodded, bowing his head before turning back to Hahn. The two teens began a loud conversation, something about polar bears, seal jerky, and skipping rocks. Whatever it was, it made Lai smile as she walked away towards their village. As she neared, people greeted her with warm smiles despite the subzero temperatures. The smiles caused her to feel like they were trying to trick her, like they weren't as friendly as they seemed.

Those people weren't like that, she knew, not like the people back home.

As she walked up the steps to the palace, she noticed the clouds above began to circle in the sky. It was nothing new being so close to the solstice. Shrugging, she walked calmly through the palace doors and made her way up towards Princess Yue's room.

"Hello Yue, are you ready for your dinner?" Lai asked as she walked into the room.

The princess sighed, rising from her spot near her vanity and turning towards her friend. She moved her white hair out of her face, turning to glance at her reflection once more before giving Lai a small smile in the mirror. The two walked out of the room together side-by-side and ventured in the long hallways of the palace.

"Did you win your fight?" Yue asked as they made their way to the dining hall.

Lai scoffed. "It was a draw, like last time. We've learned around each other for too long, we now each others moves. It doesn't draw as big of a crowd as it used to."

"Awh, poor Lai. Maybe if you stop learning his waterbending moves, you'd actually have the upper hand in a fight."

"I'll have the upper hand in a fight against the Fire Nation when they don't expect me to fire bend their heads off."

Yue rolled her eyes. "Okay, hotshot, just make sure your brother's there to put out your flaming ego."

Lai rolled her eyes but smiled none-the-less as she guided the princess towards her family. The two stay silent the rest of the way, only speaking when they parted ways. Lai nodded at Chief Arnook before slipping out of the hall.

She skipped down the stairs and ran to the training grounds, where her brother and Pakku were running some exercises.

"Maybe we should try something a little easier, Lee. You seem tense."

"I'm fine! This is too easy, Master."

"Then why is the water so unstable? It seems like your thoughts are elsewhere today."

"Maybe it's because I almost beat him in a fight today." Lai stated as she leaned up against the nearest pillar. "Had him locked up, you should've seen it, Master Pakku."

The graying man chuckled, beckoning for Lai to join them. "I'm so terribly sad I missed it."

Lee let the water hit the ground, dropping his hands to his sides. He sighed before glancing up at his master.

"I've felt...different lately. Something about the water is setting me on edge. I...feel like it wants to tell me something but I just can't place my hand on it." Lee looked straight into Pakku's eyes. "This feeling has settled in within the last couple of hours."

"Have you ever felt like this before?"

"Once, a couple of days ago. But I-oh wow." Lee's eyes grew big and his mouth dropped.

Lai turned around to see what her brother was staring at, only to find the Spirit Oasis glowing a bright white. It illuminated the setting sky, and disappeared just as quickly as it came.

"Master Pakku, what does this mean?"

"It means the Avatar is back."


	3. Chapter Two

**Book One: Water 水善**

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

* * *

A couple of weeks after the glowing tower, Lai found her life in a sort of pregnant pause. It was quite comical to her how little had happened, like the spirits were ready to pop up from the ground and yell 'SURPRISE' before wrecking her life. She concluded that it probably could be worse. She could be training sunup to sun down like her brother (it was times like these where she considered herself lucky that she wasn't a waterbender), or engaged to Hahn like Yue (not that she would mind that, though, Hahn wasn't awful looking). Regardless, Lai felt her life to be very...

...Boring.

She had some things to occupy her time, like the scrolls for firebending techniques one of the local merchants smuggled in for her or the secret hand-to-hand combat sessions she and Hahn sporadically engaged in.

Things got more interesting when the Avatar and his friends came into town. Instead of welcoming the change, Lai hated it. That day is the day she swore changed everything for her life, the day that somehow they weren't safe anymore. To make things worse, Lee collapsed before a presentation with Pakku to welcome the guests. Hahn and Surro had to drag her barely coherent brother back to their home.

That same night when she had finally settled down once the excitement of the avatar's arrival mellowed(as well as the worry of her brother's recent fainting spell, which he claimed as no biggie), Lai finally felt herself beginning to drift to sleep. Uneasiness and anxiety for her brother were the most prominent things on her mind, but she let them slip away as she glanced at the focus of her worries. He was set up in his makeshift bed, snuggly tucked in to the furs that littered his area. The lump of furs moved up and down ever so slightly, rising and falling with the sleeping Lee.

She rolled up the scroll she was reading, something to do with pirates and a Prince, before moving the furs on top of her. With a flick of her wrist the candle that illuminated the room was out. The small house was cast into darkness and the firebender believed she could finally get some well deserved rest. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out.

Lee, on the other hand, wasn't as blissfully asleep as his sister thought. He began to toss and turn, relaxed face turning downwards at the dream. All that he saw was the moon shining brightly down on him, until it turned read and cloaked the sky black.

He shot up panting with desperate eyes. Throwing the furs off of his body, Lee hurried towards the door of their home and ripped it open. He looked around, notching the dark blue hue of the night before looking up into the sky. The moon was almost full, possibly another three days before it shone gloriously in the sky, and wasn't bathed in red. The water bender sighed in relief before heading back into his home.

"Lee? What happened?"

"Nothing Lai. Go back to sleep."

His sister mumbled a few words before rolling over and falling back asleep.

 **Water-Earth-Fire-Air-Water-Earth-Fire-Air-Water-Earth-Fire-Air-Water-Earth-Fire-Air-Water-Earth-Fire-Air-Water-Earth-Fire-Air-Water-Earth-Fire-Air-Water**

The next morning Lai woke up with the sun like usual. As the fiery star began it's ascent into the sky Lai began her day, shucking on her fur parka before trudging outside, making sure to grab her weapons before leaving the small house. She quietly navigated through alleyways and side streets, smiling at the few people she passed by. It was still early, and the water tribe members usually weren't up until a couple of hours from now. This gave her the couple of hours to sharpen her skills before having to go about her daily duties.

She arrived her makeshift training area that she and her brother made. The targets were icy and stiff, makeshift fire nation solider heads carved out of ice to the best of their memory, some having fake blasts of fire and some having pikes pointed at her. She set her stuff down before beginning to stretch her stiff muscles. Leaning down by her waist she brought her arms to the left side of her body, stretching out the right. Her head dangled in between her legs, eyes closed with a sort of bliss. She opened them lazily, only to find the boy who was hitting on Yue the previous night staring at her. She sighed before coming out of her stretch.

"Can I help you?" She asked as she walked over to her clump of weapons. She began to sort through, trying to decide which one to use.

"Umm-yeah. I'm Sokka, by the way." The boy sighed. His voice was tenor-like, a few octaves high than Hahn's. She realized he really wasn't a boy, more someone her own age. "Look, I saw you sparing with the Artook wannabe yesterday and you pretty much kicked his butt. I was-uh-wondering if you'd teach me a couple of things. About, yah know, fighting."

"Sure. I'm not supposed to know this stuff anyways, but we're both outsiders in this place. As long as you get here early I'm all for teaching you."

"THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU DON-"

"-but don't flirt with me like you did with Yue. I won't hesitate to hurt you."

Sokka gulped visible before nodding. The words from the soft, delicate looking teen in front of him came out gruff, almost like a growl. He noticed her tight features "Right. No flirting. Sounds good?"

Lai nodded and grabbed the closest weapon to her, her sword, before turning to Sokka.

"By the way, my name is Lai. Now, draw your club."

Sokka did as he was told and pulled his club into his hand. He looked rather awkward, standing there with his feet too close together and the club weighing heavily in his hand. Lai sighed and walked the short distance over to him, pulling his legs apart aggressively. Sokka yelped, partially due to the fact that some girl was pulling his legs apart and partially because her hands- _uncovered hands_ -were extremely warm. Once she stood to examine her work, Sokka decided to glance down. He noticed his legs were evenly spaced to his shoulders which gave him a strong base to stand.

"I know you can't bend, but you can learn a lot from different bending techniques. This stance is for a firebender. Strong and rooted, yet easily flipped from offensive to defensive." Lai brought her sword to Sokka's club to try and get a reaction.

He did exactly as she excepted and attacked. She easily countered the attack and flipped him. Sokka let out a loud _Oof!_ before turning his gaze to the teen standing above him. Her gaze was cold.

"Apparently we have a lot of work to do to make you a possible opponent."

Lai held her hand out to him to help him up, which the young warrior took gratefully.

"Alright. Try _not_ to fail this time."

A couple of hours later, Sokka found himself limping back to the home he shared with his sister and Aang. He didn't expect the girl to be **that** good when they passed over her sparring with that _one guy_ , but he was pleasantly surprised and slightly baffled at how good she actually was. He meant to ask, but he was kind of distracted by almost break his back on his club. He rubbed his back at the memory, mumbling something about moody teenage girls as he walked into the house.

"Morning Sokka! You're sure up early!"

Add a headache to the growing list of things of things that hurt/ached/stung on Sokka's body. He simply patted the airbender's head before flopping into the nearest seat. He groaned and threw his arm over his face. Aang just shrugged before waving to Katara. He whistled as he walked out into the frozen air, almost screaming his greetings at the water tribe people who walked by. \

Katara turned to face her brother, back to the stove. Not that Sokka could see, but Katara's face was washed with worry. "Sokka, you okay?"

"Yeah, just great Katara."

"Where were you all morning?"

Sokka threw his arm down and let out a long groan. "Katara, too many questions. Just shush!"

Katara glared over at her brother. She stomped over to him and threw the bowl of breakfast, what it was he didn't know, and put her face in his.

"I will not shush! You were gone all morning! I was worried when I didn't find you in your bed and I thought that-"

"-that what, Katara? The Fire Nation isn't here." Sokka sighed. "If you really want to know, I was training with a girl named Lai. I saw her beating up some dude yesterday and I thought she could give me an edge in warrior training. Happy?"

She just huffed in reply before grabbing her own bowl of food and sitting down at the table. Shoving the food into her mouth as delicately, and angrily, as possible, Katara kept her gaze on her brother.

 _Wait._ She thought. _Did he say Lai?_

"Sokka, do you remember what dad said about our cousins?"

"Yeah, some kids born from some Fire Navy guy. They had typical Fire Nation names."

"And...those were?"

"Lee and Lai-oh. OH! You think this is them?"

Katara shrugged. "Dad did say he got a message saying they ran away. Who know's where they went?"

"Maybwe it's jwst aw couwincidewce?" He replied with a mouthful. Sokka swallowed his food before continuing. "Look, just let it go. It's not like we're going to find family all the way out here, especially during a war."

Katara sighed. "You're probably right, Sokka. I have to go to training, I'll see you later."

As she left, Sokka began to let his thoughts wander. Sokka didn't notice anything noteworthy about Lai. She was your typical water tribe person, minus the raven-like hair that rivaled Prince Zuko's. Maybe one of her parents was just naturally darker toned, he mused, or maybe she darkens it with ash? He didn't know, but didn't think much of it as he prepared himself for warrior training. As he walked out of the small house with club in hand, one thing Lai said that morning lingered in his head.

 _ **We're both outsiders here.**_


	4. Chapter Three

**Book One: Water** **水善**

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

* * *

"Seriously, Sokka, how long have we been working on your dodging skills?"

"UGH! Lai, I'm trying! Dodging while trying to hit is hard!"

"Sokka, the soldiers aren't going to stop attacking you so you can hurt them. That's not how war works."

"I know that!"

" _Obviously_." A sigh. "Look, let's just try this again. Remember, try and hit me while I'm moving."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"Sokka, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but I don't think you could hurt me if you tried."

Two weapons, one club and one sword, clashed against each other. The club was aggressive and unsure, while the sword was precise. Sokka tried to move around Lai as gracefully as he could, making sure to not slide against the icy ground. He thought he had the upper hand when he caught her off guard. Only, instead of her on the ground, he found himself flipped over on his stomach.

"Sokka, _dude_ , stop overthinking! You literally had me!"

"I can do it! Just...-lemme stand!" He struggled to get up and refused Lai's hand when she offered. "I'm fine."

"I think we should stop for today. You seem tired."

Sokka groaned out as he threw his club on the ground. The young warrior was covered in small scrapes and bruises, some from his actual warrior training but most from his training sessions with Lai. He covered his face with his hands and groaned again.

"This is hopeless. I'm useless without bending! Why can't I just be able to magically bend water and hope for the best?! Everyone loves waterbenders!" Sokka sunk to the floor. "I'm useless in a fight. I can't even protect my own sister."

Lai sunk down to the floor with him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, Sokka, you're not going to get this overnight. I know I'm kind of hard on you, but that's because I see a great warrior in you. Besides, you don't need bending to be a good warrior. Look at me."

Sokka's head popped up from his self-loathing to raise an eyebrow at Lai.

"What?"

"Umm-" She glanced over at him, "-just forget I said that. You're going to be a good warrior, you just need some practice."

"Thanks, Lai, that actually means a lot."

* * *

"Ok Aang, why don't you try that form again. You're doing it all wrong." Lee calmly said. "You need to have a push and pull with your movements, one thing leads to another."

The airbender sighed before getting back into his stance. He worked through the movements again, piecing them together in one fluid motion. As he moved water began to move with him until a single ring was formed around him. He pushed the water to Lee who readily accepted and did the same.

"Good! Keep going!" Lee's voice was light as he encouraged the airbender, not that it usually wasn't. He knew Pakku had paired him up with the tattooed boy due to his kindess, but it was mostly because of his abilities. He was possibly one of Pakku's best students, not that the grumpy old master would ever admit to it.

"Hey! I'm doing it!" Aang stated happily as he passed the water back to Lee.

"Good. On this next one, try turning it to ice."

As the water was passed back to Aang the boy tried to turn it into ice. Instead, a puddle of what looked slush plopped ungracefully in front of him. The Avatar groaned loudly as he plopped into the snow, defeated.

"I can barely make ice! This stinks! Even Katara can do it and she's only been at this a _week._ "

Lee went down to his level, his tangerine colored eyes staring into the airbender's gray. "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I couldn't turn water into ice until-like-a year after I started training. I was a little older than you. You're doing far better than I ever did in the first month so don't get yourself down."

The Avatar smiled. "Thanks Lee. You really know how to make a guy feel better."

"Yeah," he scoffed, "tell that to my sister."

"You have a sister?!"

"Yeah. Lai. She's been helping your friend Sokka in the mornings with sword things and such. I tend to stay away from her pointy objects, yah know? No sense in getting mixed up with 'em." Lee scratched the back of his head. Lee bent some water into his hand and began the exercise, passing the water to the airbender.

"Really? Wow that's awesome! Where'd she learn how to fight?" Aang passed the water back. It moved as energetically as the young man spoke.

"Well, before we lived here, we lived in the Fire Nation. I know, I know, you're probably wondering how we ended up here and why I'm a waterbender. That's another discussion for another time when we're not in training." Lee passed the water back to the Avatar. His face became contemplative, almost like he was trying to figure out what words to say.

"We...were very good friends with Prince Zuko as children. He and I would usually go off and play while Lai would go into the library and read. Eventually our running around turned into playing with wooden swords. She'd join every once in a while and would try out new moves that she read about and completely cream us. When we came here, Artook decided that whenever it was extremely necessary Lai would protect his daughter. He made special circumstances for her to learn how to fight so then she could defend Yue if no one else could. He practically had to force them to train her. The sexist pigs didn't believe she could even hold a sword, better yet become possibly one of the best fighters they had."

"Wow. What was Zuko like when he was a kid?"

"Oh, he was extremely sweet but with a huge temper. With his mother there trying to weed out the crazy, I'm sure he ended up pretty normal. He also was sweet on Lai. It was honestly sickening."

Aang gave him an incredulous look. "He's been trying to capture me since I got out of the iceberg."

"Oh. Well...he's- _uh_ -very- _umm_ -determined?"

The two finished the exercise in almost complete silence minus Lee's encouraging words every couple of minutes. By the time they finished the exercise the training for the day was over. Katara began making her way over to the pair.

"Hey Aang! Lee!" She stayed excitedly.

"Hey Katara!"

"Hey Katara. What are you guys doing tonight?"

The girl in question shrugged as she stopped by Aang. "I was just going to make some food, possibly practice some bending with Aang, while Sokka brags about his training, why?"

"You guys want to come over and eat with my sister and I? She, surprisingly, is really interested to meet you guys." Lee stated.

"Surprisingly? Why are you surprised?"

"Well..." he began, "Lai doesn't necessarily like people all that much. She's also kind of moody. Sokka, somehow, has weaseled his way into her heart. She's been a bit happier, even if she constantly says how much of an idiot he can be."

Katara put her hand on her chin, a loud, joking 'hmmm' resonating from her. She smiled at Lee.

"We'd love to come. What time?"

"Around sunset, which reminds me! I'll see you guys at dinner? I gotta run and meet up with Lai!" Lee began to run away from the pair. Before he exited the training area, he turned around. "Sokka knows where our place is! Just tell him what's up and he'll show you around!"

He turned back around and took off sprinting.

Once Lee got closer to his home he slowed to a walk. It was nice, cold strolls like these that the waterbender valued. Sure, being with people was great, but the short times of contemplative silence he got made his mind clear. Walks like these also let him sort out his dreams, or visions as he liked to call them. The red moon had be a constant lately, plaguing his dreams every time his head hit the pillow. This time around he didn't let the dreams occupy his mind. Instead, he focused on the happy feeling that the young Avatar pumped through his veins.

That kid's happy attitude is really contagious.

He placed his hands together and whistled as he walked, glancing down every alleyway to try and find his other half.

He found her sometime later throwing fireballs at frozen targets.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine." she huffed as she melted another target. "Just. Fine." A fireball came out on every word, destroying yet another of the many targets.

Lee shifted his hands and the targets reappeared.

"Lai, what's wrong. I haven't seen you like this since we left the Fire Nation." Lee walked slowly over to his sister, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I've had a bad feeling since the Avatar showed up. What if they come back, what if they come to find us?" Lai slumped down against the nearby wall.

Lee took a seat next to his sister and sighed. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, the young waterbender brought her into him and smiled. "Your instincts have always been good, do you want to go talk to Arnook? The last time you had this feeling we avoided famine during the dry season."

"No, I don't think I-" Lai began, but she stopped mid sentence at the sight of black snow. Lai reached her hand out to catch one of the flakes. She rubbed it in her fingers and a coat of soot covered her fingers.

"Oh no. This isn't good."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I just realized I haven't actually written an author's note. It's been like YEARS since I've written on here, and I'd like to thank all of you guys for reading so far! I really never thought anyone would pick up on this story, considering there are a lot of stories like this out there.**

 **Whatever, anyways, thank you SOOOOO much for reading! Please leave reviews and tell me what you think! I really appreciate the feedback.**

 **I'm trying to move as fast as possible through the first season to get to the second, that's probably where the majority of the meat of the story will be. When I started writing this, I really got into the second season of Avatar a lot more and that's kind of where the idea came from. So...sorry if the first couple of chapters seem a bit rushed. I just REALLY want to get to Book Two.**

 **Yay...updates.**

 **...is it bad I'm already planning a Legend of Korra sequel? No? Okay then.**

 **-bandkid4life**


	5. Chapter Four

**Book One: Water 水善**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

* * *

Lai and Lee made their way to the palace as fast as they could. Their robes became blackened and wet through their trek and the two looked disheveled against the pure white of the snow palace. The two were a blur as they passed the guards into the throne room where Chief Arnook was nervously talking with his advisers.

"Lai. Lee. Good, you're here."

The twins looked odd, almost out of place, with their muddied garments. Compared to everyone else, they looked like wild savages. Lai scratched the back of her head awkwardly while Lee bent the soot and water out of their clothes. The soot flopped onto the floor in a black, muddy mess causing one of the advisers to throw a glare at Lee. He grinned awkwardly.

"Chief, I have a bad feeling about this fight. I've never this much soot in such a large area unless the fleet was big."

Anrook nodded. "Yes, we know. We assumed this might happen." The chief bowed to his advisers before promptly dismissing them. Once they were out of earshot, he turned back to the twins. "There is something I must ask of your two. I wouldn't ask it unless it were the only way I see this tribe getting out of this alive."

The twins nodded.

"Of course. We owe yah one since you took us in." Lee's response was tense.

"I need one of you two to go and talk to the commanding officer, whoever he is. Your father has some sway, and maybe his children do too."

Lai verbally growled. "You want us to go back to a nation that tried to kill us? Why? To protect a bunch of old men who never wanted us here anyways?"

Lee grabbed his sister's hands before the sparks started coming and bent water to cover them. As quickly as he could manage he turned the water into ice. At least the bonds would cool his sister's rage for a little bit. She shot him a glare. If looks could kill, throw daggers, or do any sort of harm, Lee was ninety-nine percent sure he'd be either impaled, stabbed or burned right now. He could only give her a cheeky grin in response.

Those damn firebenders and their damn attitudes, and their damn sun neediness. He swore, Zuko was the _exact same way_ sometimes, too overzealous and bursting at the seams with pent up rage.

"Continue, please. You can ignore her."

Arnook shook his head as a long, heavy sigh came out of him. Unlike what either of them had seen, Arnook stood with his shoulders slumped and eyes weary. The chief looked as if he hadn't slept in a very long time, indicated by the bags that occupied the skin under his eyes.

"No, she's right. I have no reason to ask this of you. As it is, these 'old men' don't think that either of you two will help us. I don't expect you to do anything, but I'm asking, begging. If there is a way for us to resolve this without conflict then I want that to be the solution to this problem. I don't want to put my daughter's life in danger." Arnook sighed again. "Please."

It was silent for a couple of moments, and by then Lai had melted her icy binds. As she stood there rubbing her wrists she let her mind mull over the idea. It was a horrible plan. They probably didn't even remember the twins because of their brother Seung, their father's first born, so it's not like they would have much sway. She did know that the chief wouldn't back down until one of them agreed.

"I'll go."

Lee's face twisted into something unreadable. "No, you won't."

"Listen Lee, let' face it, they'd rather talk to a nonbender then a waterbender, so you're just going to have to sit this one out. Plus, if it doesn't work, I'll be needed here. I'll do it," Lai turned to face the chief, her eyes not meeting his. She sighed. "I'm going alone. I'll gather some things and leave immediately."

The chief simply nodded, his calm demeanor long gone. Placing a hand on the young teen's shoulder, Arnook closed his eyes and breathed in.

"Lai, the Northern Water Tribe will forever be in your debt whether this fails or it doesn't. Please come back to us, I know Pakku would kill me if something happened to you."

She simply nodded before walking out of the palace, Lee trailing behind her.

They walked in silence back to their home. Lee was messing with his hands trying to figure out something to say. His mind was running laps around itself, trying to think of something to say. The runner didn't help him find any hidden ideas this time around, but instead ran off into the forest of his subconscious. He sighed and rubbed his face. As soon as they reached their small home, Lai began began to strap on her sword.

"Agni! Lai! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I won't."

"You will! The last time we were ever near the Fire Nation we also died! Those men won't hesitate to kill you." Lee began to pace around the small structure. "There has to be another way, you can't just go in willingly."

Lai turned to face her brother with an unreadable expression on her face. Her one hand was secured tightly on the hilt of her blade while the other was close to her chest. Small frays of red fabric could be seen through the gaps of her closed fist. "They won't kill me. Isn't killing a claimed woman punishable by death in the Fire Nation?"

"Wait, you aren't-...oh you are _smart_! Is the betrothal still legitimate? We kind of fled the country, but I guess rules are rules." Lee stopped his pacing in front of his sister. He collected her into his arms, squeezing her tightly. "I don't want you to go but I know you have to. Be safe and punch dad for me. Please, come back to me. I don't think I can live in this world without you here. I love you."

"I love you too. I'll be safe, Lee, I promise."

* * *

The open sea was colder than she remembered especially when she was so exposed to the cold, icy air of the north. The waterbenders were nice enough to craft her a raft and gave her a paddle, realizing she may melt ice due to a number of things. Frustration was probably their first guess, and you could see the look of apprehension Pakku gave her as he handed her the wooden paddle. Lee, however, was giving a wide smile and a thumbs up. She just looked back at him blankly before she turned around and began to row.

By the time she reached the fleet, she had been rowing for a good hour, and the currents certainly helped her on her way. She let her eyes roam the billowing smoke from the steam stacks and dark metal of the ship hulls. What once filled her with safety and happiness now made bile rise to her throat, but she tried to swallow it down. The raft was small enough to pass by multiple ships unnoticed until she reached her destination.

She made quick work of scaling the ships hull with her daggers. Well, her daggers only got her so far up the hull before they were stuck permanently in the stubborn metal. She was close enough to where the anchor was located to grab hold of the chains and climb her way into the ship. The squeeze was tight with her furs and sword, almost too tight for her to fit through. Shedding her heavy coat quickly and reattaching her sword to her waist, the firebender was able to squeeze through the hole and drop into the ships deck.

Her feet hitting the ground was loud, almost too loud. The lower deck of the ship was relatively quiet despite the hums of the generators and motors. Brushing herself off quickly, Lai situated herself. It was cold in the ship despite the abundance of firebenders. Lai could see her breath. Without hesitation she let fire escape her mouth to heat her chilled hands. Before continuing towards the upper decks, the girl let herself stare in awe.

The ships of the Fire Nation had really come a long way since her last visit. She remembered her father proudly taking his family to visit his new vessel before they left. It was...quite a trip. Her and Lee took the entire traveling time to glare at their half-brother while their mother tried to calm the petty squabbles. Seung, the little bastard he was, went even as far as to shoot little bursts of fire at them, to which their mother promptly put out. Despite the troubles of her older brother Lai was incredibly curious about the ship. She let herself be a daddy's girl for the day and was glued to his hip almost the entire tour. She soaked up the words of her father like a dry sea sponge and ate up his lies like she devoured her mother's orange cherry cookies. Little Lai was brainwashed by the idea of her father. The idea that he was a hero.

 _It's a pity_. She thought to herself. _I could've been so much here._

"Hey! You!"

Lai turned around quickly, her hand finding the hilt of her blade. In front of her stood two guards with flames flickering in their hands and glares set on their weathered faces. She drew her sword and charged the guards, not even giving them a second to think.

It was a rather short battle seeing as more guards came to aid. She was quickly thrown in chains and thrown up against the wall with her cheek pressed harshly against the cool metal. One of the guards shoved the hilt of her fallen blade into her back.

"Oh, the Admiral would love to hear that a water tribe whore was trying to sabotage his ship."

She struggled against the hold of her captor. "I'm not here to sabotage your ship! I'm here to talk to whoever is in charge!"

"Yeah, sure, tell that to the Admiral. Take her above deck!"

 _Good job, Lai. You've really gotten yourself into trouble now._

Lai cursed under her breath as she was shoved-rather ungracefully-onto the deck of the command ship. A large, hilt-shaped bruise was beginning to form on her back from where the soldier kept pushing her with HER sword. She just hoped whoever this admiral was showed her some mercy, and she prayed to Agni that her engagement was still a thing.

"General, we found this peasant poking around below deck. We think she was trying to sabotage the ship."

"I already told you, you half-wit, I wasn't going to sabotage the ship! I **_said_** I wanted to speak with your commanding officer." Lai fumed. "It's not my fault you weren't educated enough to learn what words actually mean. What do they teach you all in the navy?"

The soldier struck her back, causing Lai to fall to her knees in pain. A small whimper escaped her throat as her knees harshly hit the metal ground.

"Shut up you water tri-"

" **Enough!** " Another voice rang out. "Stop your petty comments and bring the girl to me."

Lai's eyes went wide at the voice. She let the soldier haul her up and push her a couple of feet forward, only to shove her back down on her knees. Slow, powerful steps began to come towards her until they stopped. The sound of cloth hitting metal made Lai tense. She tried not to whimper as a hand grabbed her chin, turning her head upwards.

She didn't expect the gold eyes slightly hidden behind white, bushy eyebrows.

"Unchain her, captain." The man in front of her said as he stood.

"B-B-But sir!"

The man shot the captain a glare. "You would do well to listen to me, Captain. I don't think Admiral Zhao would like that his daughter chained up like some sort of animal. Unchain her."

"Yes, General Iroh."

The chains were taken off her wrists and a hand was offered to her. She took it willingly and groaned as she stood. That soldier _really_ did a number on her back, but she couldn't show weakness right now.

"Thank you, General Iroh." She mumbled as she rubbed her back.

A small smile graced the old man's lips. "You are most welcome, Little Fire Lily. Come."

She followed closely behind the general up the deck of the ship, up towards the bow. Standing at the edge looking over the water was a man with a large, black and red cloak set over his broad shoulders. Dark, graying hair was pulled up into the traditional Fire Nation top knot.

"Admiral, you have a visitor."

The admiral turned around without haste and set his eyes on the retired general. His gaze flickered to the unwavering gaze of the water tribe peasant standing before him. She looked like all of her people with those blue eyes, but Zhao couldn't help but notice her paler skin. Her hair, tied back by multiple braids into a ponytail, was a dark black. The one thing that really caught his attention was the red and gold pendant on her neck. He strode over to her and placed his hand on the pendant while his eyes glared up at her.

"Where did you steal this from, peasant." He growled. His brown eyes, sparkling like a newly kindled fire, were full of anger.

Lai removed his hand from her neck and pushed it back. "It's mine. It was a gift from a prince."

Zhao simple huffed. "That _prince_ , if that's what you even want to call him, is long gone. Dead, apparently killed by pirates. Now, tell me the truth, I know no child of mine would ever trade something so valuable to such a lowlife. Where is my daughter, that way I can return what you rightfully stole."

"It is me, father. It's Lai." Her glare was unwavering as she spoke. "I've come to negotiate peace."


	6. Chapter Five

**Book One: Water 水善**

* * *

 **Chapter Five:**

* * *

Lai sat in front of the retired general with her arms crossed in front of her. She was pissed, which was definitely an understatement for how she _really_ felt. The teen was quivering with pent up rage by the time the general walked her into his private quarters, and by now the flames from the candles were brightly burning.

Iroh had seen her angry, but never _this_ angry.

"I cannot believe he just wants go in there and kill everything! They're a people, and you can't just wipe people out in one go!"

"Unfortunately, he can." Iroh sighed as he sipped his tea. "General Zhao is a very dangerous man capable of many dangerous things. If he sets his mind to something, I am afraid he won't back down until he sees it through. That is one thing that you and your father have in common, Fire Lily."

Lai glared at him. "We have nothing in common."

"Still, to this day, you and my nephew have always had the same very short temper. I am surprised you didn't bend at your father."

"They don't know I'm a bender, and I'd like to keep it that way. I feel as if I'll need that secret."

Iroh stroked his beard, contemplating her words. "Hmm, I feel you are right. It'll give you an edge over your enemies. How has your training come along since you left?"

"Master Pakku has been trying to help me through forms as best has he could. Everything is so different so it's been a little hard, but I've been slowly mastering forms." She replied evenly. The flames began to dwindle down. "It's been very slow."

"There is one thing I wish to teach you since you are here with me. One day, when you finally reveal your bending to the world, I feel as if you will need this. I am going to teach you to redirect lightening."

Lai's eyes went wide for a couple of seconds as she looked at Iroh. Lightening was something she never even attempted, better yet thought about. It was almost taboo to play with something that could kill you from the inside out.

"Redirect?"

"Yes. This will prove easy for you since you have spent so much time with the waterbenders. Stand." The general stood from his chair, as did Lai. "Follow my movements closely. Feel the chi move up, down, up and out."

Iroh set himself up in his stance before beginning to move. Letting her eyes follow his movements, Lai began to mimic his techniques. The movements seemed familiar to her, like when her brother began to push and pull the water for the first time. It proved simple enough, and when a couple of moments had passed she was moving in time with him.

"Very good. You are a natural."

"I feel like, with my mother being a waterbender and all, I should be. But why-"

A knock interrupted her. As a confused look passed over her face the general made his way to the door. Making sure to open it quickly, a figure bolted in the opening before Iroh slammed it shut. A masked guard stood in the room with the two, and he put her on edge. Lai noticed that it was the same guard who was shoving her sword into her back earlier.

"You took too long to get here! You could've been caught!" Iroh scolded the masked firebender softly, almost like a whisper.

"I had to try and get away from the other guards without being noticed! You think I wanted to be there?"

The pair continued to bicker like father and son and ignored the girl dressed in water tribe garb. Iroh's face went from angry to worried to stern as he talked to the masked man, yet his voice never lost the care nor raised much from when he started talking.

The same couldn't be said for the soldier's voice.

That voice.

Lai felt her heart quicken at that voice. The scratchy baritone was something she thought she'd never hear again, all be it, it was a couple of decibels higher the last time she heard it. She neared the bickering pair with awe plastered on her face.

"Zuko?"

The pair stopped talking. Masked man turned around to look at her, his unseen gaze burning holes into her skin. A hand reached up to her neck to finger the stone of the necklace before it dropped to his side. The other hand went up to his helmet and ripped the red iron straight off his head. Lai couldn't help but gasp.

This wasn't the boy she remembered from her childhood, far from it. Instead of the joy once seen in those golden eyes, Lai could only see hate and desperation. His left eye was scarred up to the beginnings of his scalp and onto his ear. Red and angry, the scarred skin contrasted from his unusually pale skin. His once completely hair covered head was shaved, minus the phoenix tail atop his head.

"Zuko." She mumbled her words under her breath as her hand reached out to his scar. "What happened to you?"

He caught her hand before it reached his cheek, instead twining it with his before lowering them. "It's in the past, it's nothing."

"That scar isn't nothing."

"Don't worry about it." He snapped quietly, squeezing her hand. "I don't want to think about that right now. All I need to think about is capturing the Avatar."

Lai rolled her eyes and snatched her hand away from him. "That's right, Lee was saying you've been chasing the bald kid for months. Give up, he isn't easily caught. While you're at it, convince my father to stop too would yah?"

"These people brought it on themselves by harboring the Avatar!"

The flames in the room grew as the two teens stared each other down. Zuko's eyes looked almost haunted in the firelight.

"They've been harboring more than the Avatar, you numskull." Lai pushed her way past Zuko to her parka. She slipped it on her shoulders before turning to face the two firebenders. "I need to leave. If there's going to be a fight, then I need to be there. This plan obviously isn't working."

"What was your plan anyways? Appeal to Zhao's fatherly love?"

Lai shook her head. "No, not even close. I was appealing to his lust for power by giving into a deal he wanted me to long before we ran away."

Iroh stepped between the two teens, his calm eyes boring into Lai's. He put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile. "Come, Lai. Zuko was just about to be on his way as well. Maybe you both can help each other out."

"When Lee flies. That's when we'll help each other out." Lai crossed her arms.

Zuko, crossing his arms as well, huffed out an, "agreed."

* * *

 **Hello frands. I'm so sorry it's been legit months to a year since I updated. Life has been crazy man.**

 **ANywho, I hope you all enjoy this part. I am still trying to rush through it. I had it already written, I just have had absolutely NO TIME to update! Going to try and push out a couple of updates within the next couple of weeks.**

 **If you guys have time, I have a Wattpad account as well. I just released an original story titled '20 Ways How Not To Get A Guy'. Please tell me what you think if you want to read! If not, it's cool.**

 **Leave a like and a review!**

 **~bandkind4life**


	7. Chapter Six

**Book One: Water 水善**

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

* * *

Lai wasn't even halfway to one of the more central ships by the time the Fire Nation began to close in on the harbor. Lee could still see the small, yet definable ice boat making it's way through the fleet of black ships.

He couldn't focus on that though, especially when he helped put one of the ships into ice. The ship was frozen within large, rigid poles of ice with smoke billowing profusely out of it's smokestacks due to overexertion of the engine. One well aimed ice shard could literally blow the ship into bite sized pieces. He hitched a ride back on Appa when Aang passed by, and ended up helping the kid take out some of the other ships. It was nearly nightfall by the time they got back. Katara and Yue met them. Even with their chatting, Lee couldn't help but ignore it and embrace the numb. He hadn't been separated from Lai for this long ever. Not even to sleep.

He followed them without question, only breaking off when they got to the palace. It was as if he was being pulled towards The Spirit Oasis, like Tu and La were calling out to him. The soft hum of the water around him led him to where he needed to go, and by the time he reached the small door Lee wanted nothing more than to escape into the serene setting, even if for just a little while. He pushed it open and entered the oasis, making sure to shed his outer robe before making his way towards the center. It took some extra time before he fell into meditative trance, but once he did his mind was a peace.

Only for a little while, though.

After what seemed like hours sitting there, images of the red sun began to flash into his mind, along with a white woman floating in the night sky. It flashed to fire, a lot of fire, with trees and animals turning into ash as large cones of fire chased them over the land. His heartbeat began to race as the animals continued to run, only to be taken out by the fiery death coming towards them. And then, it stopped.

All was well. A baby cried. A baby with pale green eyes.

Lee fell back from his stance as the door opened. Blinking a couple times to come to, the teen stood and turned around to meet the people who walked in. Aang, followed by Katara and Yue, made their way into the oasis. He gave them a sheepish grin as a blush spread over his darker cheeks.

"Oh, hey guys."

"Lee? What are you doing here?" Yue sounded very confused. According to what she had told Lai, no outsiders were allowed to see The Spirit Oasis at all. Yet here was Lee, awkward waterbender who looked so much like the Fire Nation standing in the middle of a scared Water Tribe place. His almost orange eyes sent Yue a pleading look.

"Pakku showed me this place years ago. Whenever I need somewhere to think I just kind of come here. It helps me sort through my-uhh..." Lee scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Your...?"

"Puberty thoughts..? Yeah...pubery thoughts?"

Aang laugh was full of myrrh as he hopped around Lee to the middle of the oasis. He smiled and looked around.

"I can feel something! It's so...tranquil."

Lee understood what he meant. He too felt at peace here, like he could finally just relax and let the spirits guide his mind. He watched as Aang's eyes followed the fish, only to have them, and his arrows, turn completely white. He gasped, watching as the young boy slipped into the avatar state. The glow illuminated the grass underneath him and cast slight shadows over Lee's face. He smiled, happy that the Avatar could finally find some guidance.

"He's my friend. I'm perfectly capable of protecting him."

He smiled at Katara's enthusiasm, and shot her a small smile from where he stood.

"Well, look who's a big girl now."

Katara and Lee both looked off to the voice. An almost pitiful 'no' slipped from her lips as she turned her eyes to face the drenched and scarred teen. A long, phoenix tail stood atop his head, making his scar look angrier than it had to be. Lee tensed, slipping into one of his forms quickly. Katara did the same as he neared. As he studied the teen through narrowed eyes, Lee couldn't help but think something about him was familiar.

"Hand him over, and I won't have to hurt you."

The teen quickly began firebending at Katara, to which she promptly blocked with slashes of water. After a couple well aimed fire slashes, Katara shot a long stream of water at the scarred teen, making him fall onto the group in a soaking heap. Lee smirked and relaxed. Katara had this covered.

"I see you learned some new tricks, but I didn't come this far to lose to you." He shot another long burst of fire at her to punctuate his sentence, which she blocked without issue.

Lee could tell Katara was angry when she all but encased the teen in a frozen sphere. A smirk formed on her face, a triumphant victory against her foe once again. Just like in training. Only, instead of giving up, the teen just gave her back the same look.

Muffled, yet still audible, "You little peasant. You found a master, didn't you?"

The sphere began to glow, and before he knew it, shards of ice were flying around him. One knocked Katara down, her back hitting the grass. The teen began to strike again, a fireball coming towards her. Before it could even reach her, Lee slipped into the fight and blocked it with his own stream of water. The two came closer than ever, slashing and dodging at each attack. Lee felt himself slip back into his 'fight's with Lee, the fire barely hitting his shoulders as he danced around the firebender. Only, instead of dancing with him, the teen struggled to keep up. He was stepping on Lee's toes, much like Zuko had as a child. In fact, now that he thought of it as fire neared his head, he looked exactly like Zuko.

The teen aimed one precise slice of fire against Lee's face wrap which, up until now he didn't realize he still had on to keep warm. The face wrap fell to reveal his entire face, making the firebender stop momentarily.

"Lee?"

"Zuko. Dude. You suck."

Zuko growled before aiming one more fireball at his head, only to be knocked over by water. Katara, now on her feet, nodded at Lee, and together they bent him up with the oasis water towards the nearest wall. Encased in ice, Zuko wasn't much of an issue.

Katara glanced over at Lee. "So, you know him?"

"Yeah. He was a friend a long time ago, but I'm not sure what to think anymore." Lee sighed as he glanced over at the rising sun. He closed his eyes, letting the warmth was over him with a sigh. With his eyes closed, Lee's ear picked up the heavy breathing from behind him.

In a split second, Zuko was hurling a fireball towards Katara without her knowledge. Lee acted quickly, pushing the younger girl out of the way as a puff of dark smoke blurred their vision. Once cleared, the pair could see Zuko standing with Aang's collar clutched in his arms.

"You rise with the moon. _I_ rise with the sun."


End file.
